Clear Falls coach Lauren Martens directed the Lady Knights to the 2012 District 24-5A cross country championship by beating out longtime winner Clear Lake on Oct. 26 in Walter Hall Park in League City.

Clear Falls coach Lauren Martens directed the Lady Knights to the 2012 District 24-5A cross country championship by beating out longtime winner Clear Lake on Oct. 26 in Walter Hall Park in League City.

Photo: L. Scott Hainline

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Clear Falls girls cross country head coach Lauren Martens during the Humble pre-regional cross country meet at Atascocita High School Saturday 9/15/12. Photo Â by Tony Bullard.

Clear Falls girls cross country head coach Lauren Martens during the Humble pre-regional cross country meet at Atascocita High School Saturday 9/15/12. Photo Â by Tony Bullard.

Photo: Â Tony Bullard 2012, Freelance Photographer

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Martens finds a new home in Pearland

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Lauren Martens is a long way from home, but if everything goes well she'll call Pearland her home for a long time.

Martens has been hired as the girls basketball coach at Pearland. She spent the last five years as an assistant coach at Clear Falls. Both places are drastically different from where she grew up in Chicago, but she is happy to be where she is.

After studying under Clear Falls head coach Shannon Osborne, Martens said she thought she was ready to be a head coach.

"I was just waiting for a job I felt would be a perfect fit for me," Martens said. "When Pearland opened up it seemed like a great opportunity. The athletic department is strong. I knew it was the place I wanted to be."

Martens played basketball for Lewis (Ill.) University, an NCAA Division II program. After that she became an assistant coach at her alma mater Bolingbrook (Ill.) High School. In one season there she helped the team win a state championship and finish No. 2 in the nation. That team featured Ariel Massengale, who went on to play for Tennessee and was drafted by the WNBA's Atlanta Dream, and Morgan Tuck, one of the stars for Connecticut's NCAA championship team.

Marten's coaching stay at Bolingbrook due to budget cuts so while she was at the state tournament she attended a job fair at Illinois State University. There she talked to a representative from Clear Creek ISD.

She did some research and liked that the district was strong in both academics and athletics. She accepted a job at Clear Falls.

"Everything about it was promising," Martens said. "Even if I was picking up and moving to a state 20 hours away there was still a great opportunity for me to pursue. It has been a really cool experience. The culture down here is really neat to see."

She will inherit a young team at Pearland that advanced to the regional semifinals in 2013 and 2014 under former coach Donna Vacek. Martens said she expects to field a scrappy team that creates offense from its defense.

At Clear Falls, Martens routinely had to worry about powerful Clear Springs twice every seasons. At Pearland the powerhouse opponent is Manvel, which won a state title in 2014. She said the goal always will be at least to make the playoffs. Contending for district championships will be near the top of the list as well.

Keeping up the success at Pearland will be a tall task, but Martens believes she is ready to take it on.

"I've always thrived under pressure and with challenges," she said.

"I'm excited to take on this challenge of building this team and making sure they are disciplined and ready to go for each competition."